The Saunders-Thomas fight will appear on the preliminary card for UFC 87, which takes place Aug. 9 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn.

The reason for Rollins departure from the card wasn’t immediately known.

Saunders, a fan favorite from “TUF 6,” was knocked out of the reality-series competition by eventual show runner-up Tommy Speer. However, he returned at the show’s live finale for an entertaining and hard-fought unanimous-decision victory over Dan Barrera. It was his fifth consecutive win.

Thomas, a former Eastern Illinois University wrestler, turned pro in 2006 and has fought primarily for the Courage Fighting Championships and Extreme Fighting organizations. Of his eight pro victories, none have gone the distance; five were won via submission and four via TKO.

For the latest UFC 87 fight card, which features a main event between UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and top contender Jon Fitch, check out the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).